99942 Apophis
by Matrix234
Summary: “Didn’t we watch Apophis die? TWICE!" BASED ON FACTS! Please R and R. A little drabble on Apophis. Please read the need to know facts!


_Disclaimer: I do not own SG-1 or anything associated with them. If I did, Pete would have been killed in a very nasty way, O'Neill would never, ever had left, the frat regs would have been thrown out the window and Janet wouldn't have died! –Cough- _

_AN1: OK, **The Unwritten rules of the SGC **will be updated soon and if archery is cancelled tomorrow, update will be tomorrow. _

_Plot: This is something that has concerned me a while. It's a one shot, if I get enough reviews (20 or more) then I may turn it into a series. _

_If you read my profile you will know I'm a science undergrad. With a lot of my friends doing a Physics/Astronomy degree._

_Well, over an interesting take-out and movie night (Stargate SG-1 marathon should I say) my close friend asked a rather interesting question. To which I was more than confused_

"_How will SG1 save the earth from Apophis?" _

_Set after fail safe. _

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**99942 Apophis**

**Facts you need to know!**

**THIS IS TRUE. GO LOOK IT UP.**

**99942 APOPHIS (previously known as 2004 MN4) is a**** near-Earth asteroid that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 because initial observations indicated a significant probability (up to 2.7 percent) that it would strike the Earth in 2029.**

**Actually (and feel the irony) Friday 13****th**** 2029**

**However there remained a possibility that Apophis would pass through a gravitational keyhole, a precise region in space no more than about 600 meters across, that would set up a quicker future impact** **(as much as 15 years)**

**It still remains the only asteroid to reach level 2 on the Torino impact hazard scale **

**Although the Greek name for the Egyptian god of darkness may have been more appropriate, Tholen and Tucker (two of the co-discovers of the asteroid) are reportedly fans of **_**Stargate SG-1**_**. And Apophis who took the name for the Egyptian god sought to destroy Earth (a lot) hence the name stuck**

**When Apophis strikes Earth it will have an impact of 880 megatons of TNT in comparison the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa was the equivalent of roughly 200 megatons.**

**Depending on what you read the impact area is set anywhere between Russia and the USA…BUT the most reliable source has it set for impact between Colorado and Nevada**

**How's that for Irony!!**

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99942 Apophis

The corridors that mapped the SGC were in a state of utter discord when Colonel O'Neill stepped out of the elevator and onto level 28. And the hairs on the back of his neck instantly perked up more than usual.

Having been ordered to take a week off, he had been in his cabin in Minnesota, hundreds of miles away from the SGC with only his cell phone, beer and a lake with a considerable shortage of fish in it. So when he received an urgent call, he high tailed it back to the SGC in record time, remembering to collect a 20 from Daniel next time he saw him.

But he was not prepared for the chaos that was now the SGC.

Boxes were being stacked; people were running up and down, the speakers were blaring out requests for personnel to report to several places. That was when he decided he needed information.

Grabbing the arm of a passing airman, he quickly asked what was happing, to which he got the reply

"It's Apophis, sir… He's here" and with that, the young man ran down the rest of the corridor and around a corner, leaving a very confused Jack O'Neill rooted to the spot.

Finally gaining the composure befitting an Air Force Colonel, he made his way to the observation room. On arrival he immediately noticed three things.

Carter was there, in full science mode.

Daniel was there, in full panic with coffee mode

Teal'c was there, in full calm mode

Had he been the only one to leave the SGC?!

Choosing to ignore the fact that the team he ordered to get a life were working, he instead asked the question that he desperately wanted answering.

"What the hell is going on?" he practically shouted, earning him a confused look from Daniel, a raised eyebrow from Teal'c and a question from Carter.

"Haven't you been watching the news sir? Apophis is here ahead of schedule"

Three things bothered him about that statement.

One: When the SGC had gone public about the goa'uld, the Stargate and the whole program was beyond him. He swore he wasn't getting his memos.

Two: He could have sworn he watched Apophis die at least twice…when had he decided to come back to life?

Three: When had they planned for Apophis to come anyway? To arrive ahead of schedule meant that he would first have to be _on the_ schedule!

"Didn't we watch Apophis die? TWICE?!" he added and if possible the annoyed look Carter sent him was by far the dirtiest he had ever been on the receiving end of.

"Yes sir, we did. But Apophis" she indicated the screen "Is the name of the asteroid that is on a direct collision course with us, sir" she turned back to the screen and punched in some numbers.

"Oh no, no, no! We did this already! A few weeks ago as a matter of fact!" that earned him a rare smirk as she fought to remain calm, she took a deep breath, and tried once again to explain.

"Yes sir we did, but at approximately 0500 this morning, NORAD tracked the 99942 Apophis asteroid heading through a narrow gravitational keyhole. The chances of this were astronomically small, but the effect was to speed up the asteroids approach

"In a little under 7 hours, Apophis will crash into the earth, with the force of 880 megatons of TNT."

Despite appearances, he actually understood everything; he did have a love of astronomy that had nothing to do with spying on the neighbours, and the part about the explosion he defiantly understood

"So we do what we did last time, ride it through the earth" It was Daniels turn to look annoyed. He took a sip of his coffee and decided to have a try at explaining.

"That's great Jack, just let us know where you parked your ship and we'll go get it" OK, so he hadn't thought that part out. Their only ship was currently in the middle of the OTHER asteroid floating past earth.

"So no ship? What about our allies, they owe us a favour after last time" It was Teal'c who answered.

"The asteroid is a natural occurrence O'Neill, The Asguard will not help us and the Tok'ra have no ships in the immediate area" how he was so calm in the face of the growing panic in everyone else's voice was beyond him.

"So blow it out the sky!" he almost yelled, but the looks that got him showed that they were all coming to the end of their patience. It was then he realized "Of course the asteroid has gone beyond failsafe"

"Why hadn't anyone detected this thing before?" he asked, seeing another obvious flaw in their brilliant network of satellites.

"We did Sir. The minor planet centre detected the asteroid not too long ago the approach was computed to be April 13, 2029 by the automatic Sentry system of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office. The University of Pisa, Italy and the University of Valladolid, Spain also calculated this same approach date.

"But it was meant to be a near miss asteroid. As I stated earlier there was an astromically small chance of it hitting the gravitational keyhole, actually calculated to be 1 in –"

"Carter" he cut her off with a hand gesture to boot. "Bottom line this for me will ya?"

She looked over at her computer screen, then at Daniel and then to Teal'c.

"The keyhole gave the asteroid the extra push it needed to change course and become an impact asteroid. In little under 7 hours, it will strike the earth between Colorado and Nevada. We are evacuating as many people as we can to the Alpha site."

It took O'Neill about 5 seconds for the information to sink in, and another 5 for his brain to finally work. Before he opened his mouth to say something, General Hammond stepped out of his office.

"The president is in the air and should arrive in approximately 4 hours. Colonel you are responsible for making sure he arrives safely to the Alpha site where you will assume command of the military teams being sent through."

"Yes sir?" he said slowly, coming to the conclusion the rest of his team had

"You aren't going through with us sir?" Carter asked before he had the chance

"I will be on the last team to head out. Although the alpha site will have limited supplies, with the help of our off world allies we should be able to accommodate a large number of people. I will stay behind to make sure everyone goes through.

"Major I want you to organize the scientific staff and equipment we will need to bring. Dr Jackson I want you helping the civilians, they will no doubt be confused. Teal'c I would like you to go to the Alpha site and help with base security. You have your orders people. Move out"

And with that, they moved as efficiently as they could, ready to leave their world behind for possible the last time.

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_Ok, so, what did ya think?_

_Please feel free to look the asteroid up, its on most websites, just google it. _

_But rest assured, as of 2008 it is a Near-miss asteroid. And the chances of collision happening are really really small_

_Please Read and Review…I live for reviews. They keep me warm at night_

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